Burro was a blast, even though it was sketchy as hell at the top! I can't believe how covered in mud my bike became after that run. Bombing down Porcupine Rim at the end of the race was awesome. I wish I rode the Saturday stages before the race, had no idea where the hell I was going half the time. Still fun though. I can't wait to get back out there again.

JS, you still switching to a Bronson next season? You think it will serve you better?

Thanks guys. Fitness is huge to do well. You can't use all the fancy tech skills if you can't see!

I'll still be switching to a smaller wheeled bike with a bit more travel. Bronson is my number one pick, but I may have an opportunity to check out a Mach 6. I love my Tallboy LT, but smaller wheels pick up speed faster out of turns and require less effort to get back to speed when you inevitably mess up and lose your flow. I've also felt a touch more suspension in the back will help on the rougher courses without losing much, if any, pedal ability on the not so rough stuff.

I had a blast racing up there! Got pretty well lost on stage 3 as well, didn't ride anything before hand and was my first time ever on the Enchilada course. I opted to take the second shuttle on Sunday figuring it would be somewhat warmer. Not sure if that was really a better idea or not, since the first stage was either packed ice or mud. Exhilarating ride though!

Finished 6th in the 19-29 Amateur class and looks like 9th OA in the series, even though I only did two races. Not a lot of Amateurs doing the whole series, lot of cash to drop...

MOab BME was the last two days of a 9 day riding vacation for me... here's a writeup/email I sent to a buddy about the experience:

So finally got to ride whole enchilada on Thursday of our trip! I had been wondering if its "over-hyped"... it's not!

Burro down was fun! Even steeper/loose than I expected, but it reminded me of my time downhilling at keystone this year. That experience made me pretty comfy letting off the brakes and cruising down burro. Glad I got to ride it dry because Sunday/race day was going to be waaay different.

After 6 days of strong riding (6hrs/day), we opted to take Friday off the bikes before racing all weekend-- we opted for fresh arms/legs over Saturday race course knowledge-- probably a good decision, but man, some course knowledge would've been an advantage on Saturday's races. Saturday's stages were 17mins and under, sprinty, but enough blind corners and short bursty uphills it was difficult to know when to carry momentum, when to shift down etc. I held it together for 13th, 12th, and 22nd on day 1 stages. Stage 3 wasn't marked well, I went off course by about 50 yards, had to turn a 180 and ride back up a rock to get back on course. Oh well.

Sunday... stage 4 burro... super muddy climb up, but i'm getting pumped, its just mud, ive got big tires and I can just drop the seat and let it slide... I got this. About 90secs before I dropped in, a photog comes up the trail and says "watch out for the ice in the corners!" Burro down is in shade, not mud, but ice/snow. It was a shitshow. I fell at least three times. Stuff wasn't even walkable. All the earlier riders had essentially acted like a zamboni and the trail was glazed over ice. Many times I'd fall and actually accelerate down the hill. Not really fun-- but I'm glad we all survived, nothing broken-- that was a win for our group in my book. Finished 41st. Ugly.

Stage 5, from the top of hazard down to the beginnning of singletrack. Arms were tired, confidence a bit shaken, but i know i've got stronger legs than most. I tried to ride clean and conservative through hazard, then attacked hard on kokopelli, UPS, LPS, and porcupine. I passed 8 people on my way to the finish line, got 7th on the stage, 1:08. DH experience this year helped me attack the drops, plow through rock gardens, and take the steep lines down rock faces. It was a blast. Excellent racing. I think everyone enjoyed that last stage!

I finished 12th in my age group, and had burro been dry, I think i could've busted into the top 10.

At the finish, we rode down the river together. Being exhausted from racing, and saying "no risks, gentle ride down", we still hit some drops and Eyberg was roosting his rear end around corners. I was smiling & laughing the whole way down-- that stuff is just fun!

We could've prepared for the race more, but it would have sacrificed vacation fun riding-- which is hard to do. It was a helluva trip and some intense racing.

That was a super fun race. I didn't quite feel "up to speed" since weather, Eurobike, and Interbike put a hurt on my training in weeks leading up to the race.

Pretty much blew it in Stage 3 & 4 - ~:20-30 seconds lost on 3 due to an off-course excursion, ~1:00+ lost on 4 due to a crash then a mellow pace. Stage 1 and 5 were my best, 28th and 30th. Really happy with how I rode the toughest, most physical stretch - the Porcupine double track. Finished 5 in 1:04-something.

Lots to work on to improve on results next year! See you in the pro class next year Jswell!

That was a super fun race. I didn't quite feel "up to speed" since weather, Eurobike, and Interbike put a hurt on my training in weeks leading up to the race.

Pretty much blew it in Stage 3 & 4 - ~:20-30 seconds lost on 3 due to an off-course excursion, ~1:00+ lost on 4 due to a crash then a mellow pace. Stage 1 and 5 were my best, 28th and 30th. Really happy with how I rode the toughest, most physical stretch - the Porcupine double track. Finished 5 in 1:04-something.

Lots to work on to improve on results next year! See you in the pro class next year Jswell!

Stage 3 would've been awesome had it been taped more clearly. so many people rode off course!

Stage 4 was the most fun I've had on a bike in, honestly... years. I just started laughing my ass off about half-way down that thing and never stopped. Made up most of the time I blew on the XC stages from Day 1, soooo much fun.